A new cell focusing on the military implementation of SESAR - the European air traffic control modernisation programme – has been established within the EDA.

The Single European Sky (SES) aims at realising the optimisation of the airspace organisation and management in Europe through a combination of technological, economic, and regulatory efforts. SESAR (Single European Sky ATM Research) is the technical pillar of this. SESAR involves developing a new ATM system to handle more traffic with greater safety and at a lower cost. Its new technologies and procedures will also seek to reduce the environmental impact of flying. Although SES regulations primarily apply to civil aviation, military could be affected whenever flying out of dedicated and restricted airspaces.

EDA’s responsibilities in SESAR deployment

The SESAR programme is now reaching its deployment phase and EDA has various responsibilities regarding the military implications of the project. Since 2010, EDA has been tasked to support participating Member States in the identification of the military operational and financial risks expected with the implementation of SESAR. It has now been assigned a specific role to coordinate military views (CIR 490/2013) - by gathering input and requirements from Ministries of Defence (MODs). EDA could also enable MODs to access EU funds for collaborative projects.

How the new team operates

The new team called the SESAR Cell will provide in-house expertise and will coordinate with MODs to ensure that the military views and requirements are taken into account in the implementation of SESAR. The EDA will also work closely with the European Commission, the SESAR Joint Undertaking (responsible for SESAR Development), NATO and EUROCONTROL. A Management Committee - comprised of representatives from the 22 participating Member States will monitor the progress of the cell.

photo Thales
source Thales In June 2017, on the occasion of the Belgian Defense Technology & Industry Day trials, held at the Naval Base at Zeebrugge, Thales successfully demonstrated the performances of its latest SAMDIS Multi-view Synthetic Aperture...

16.05.2017 source EU Defence Agency EDA has opened a call for submissions from defence industry representatives on the topic of Remotely Piloted Air Systems (RPAS). This call is in response to the agreement between EDA defence ministers to develop a more...